In A Rage
by MaryChristmas
Summary: Ash, Misty, Jessie and James are trapped under the Lake of Rage. Will they survive each other before help arrives? Contains AAML and JAJL
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon  
  
**Summary:** Ash and Misty are trapped in a building under the Lake of Rage by Team Rocket. Unfortunately, Meowth also accidentally traps Jessie and James as well. With Brock injured, who will Pikachu turn to for help? Will Ash, Misty, Jessie and James survive each other's company until help can arrive?   
  
**A/N:** I decided to scrap the other fic I'd started, mostly because I had absolutely no idea where I was going with it. Anyway, here's a humor type romancey thing.  
  


**In A Rage**

  
  
  
  
The trio of friends were all in the Mahogony Town Pokemon Center's common room. Brock was laying back on one of the couches with his foot propped up on two pillows. He had sprained that ankle earlier in the day when one of Team Rocket's many ploys to capture Pikachu went awry. Despite the pain, however, he didn't seem to be bothered too much. After all, with Nurse Joy practically waiting on him hand and foot....well I'll just leave it to your imaginations just how much he was enjoying himself.  
  
"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself Brock?"  
  
"Yeah, go on, enjoy yourselves."  
  
Ash and Misty looked at each other, then down at Pikachu who was at their feet looking up at them. They all shrugged.  
  
"Okay," Misty said, knowing exactly why Brock didn't mind in the least not being able to go with them. "Just don't give Nurse Joy _too_ hard a time."  
  
Brock affected a hurt look. "Why Misty, how could you possibly think that I would ever give the love of my life a hard time?"  
  
"Maybe because every pretty girl you meet is the love of your life?"  
  
"Misty, Misty, Misty," Brock admonished. "Someday, you'll understand."  
  
"Understand what?" Ash asked, not really caring, "Look, let's go already Misty."  
  
"Pika!" the little electric mouse agreed.  
  
Misty let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, we're leaving already. Though I don't understand what your hurry is. We already know the Gym's not going to be open. It wasn't open yesterday, or the day before that, or the day before that or..."  
  
"Well, that's why we have to check today," Ash countered, "And we'll keep checking until it is!"  
  
This time Misty's exasperated sigh was accompanied by Brock's. "Whatever, let's just go so I don't have to see Brock embarrass himself."  
  
She was talking to thin air, though, because as soon as Misty had said 'let's just go', Ash and Pikachu had taken off. She sweatdropped and then ran towards the door, intent upon catching up.  
  
Brock watched them go with amusement. "Ah, young love...it's so sweet," he remarked to himself, since no one else was around. Then he settled himself back against the pillows and closed his eyes. How long he slept he didn't know, but he was awakened rather rudely by a message of extreme pain from his ankle to his brain.  
  
His brain passed the message on to his mouth where it was translated into this: "OOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!"  
  
His eyes flew open to see a dark haired teenage girl wearing a trendy halter top and blue jeans standing at the arm of the couch where his foot lay. Her eyes were hidden by a pair of shiny, opaque sunglasses, but he sensed anger coming from the girl.  
  
"Hey! You scared her away! Now she won't come out until you're gone. Great, just great."  
  
"Ungh," was his only response. Then, his brain sent out natural endorphomines to handle the pain, and he was able to relegate more thought patterns to speech. "Well, uh..." Okay so it still had a few kinks to work out...  
  
"Brock! Is that you? What happened?" a familiar voice chirruped, asking the questions in quick-fire succession.  
  
He looked up to see Casey, in her normal yellow and black Electabuzz fan uniform. "Hey Casey, yeah it's me. And I sprained my ankle...and I was just roused from a pleasant dream by a very unpleasant pain."  
  
"Oh!" the other girl exclaimed suddenly, "So that's why you yelled. I thought maybe it was because you were just um...you know trying to scare people?"  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"Well, anyway Brock, I'll try and talk to you later. I'm going to go see if I can help Todd convince Mary to come out. Come on Melody."  
  
Brock shook his head and watched as the two of the walked off, arguing about something. He tentatively moved his foot--then gasped as pain ran up his leg.  
  
"Here you go, Brock," Nurse Joy said, coming from the back of the Center, "Something for the pain, and it will make you sleep."  
  
He gratefully took it. As the medicine began to take effect, he decided it was just his imagination that Nurse Joy said in relief, "That Miltank sedative should keep him out for a while." He was also certain that it was the sedative's fault that the last image in his mind was the furious face of that rude teenage girl....  
  
**Meanwhile.....**  
  
"I told you it wouldn't be open, but would you listen? Nooo. Not Ash Ketchum, the Pokemon Master." Misty's voice dripped with saracasm and anger. "Look, lets just go to the Lake of Rage and..."  
  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the guy who was guarding the front of the gym said, "There're rumors that all the magikarp are elvolving into gyrados."  
  
"G....gyrados?" Misty asked, her voice trembling. They hadn't had any good experiences with the water dragons in the past.  
  
"Yeah, there's even said to be a Red Gyrados. It's supposedly really rare...if there is one."  
  
"Really?" Ash asked, his interest piqued. "Then, we should go see...I mean we can stay way back from the lake Misty."  
  
"B...but it's all just a rumor," the guy quickly put in, "I mean, it's probably not even true."  
  
"Well, then there's nothing to worry about. Come on Pikachu!"  
  
The pokemon and its trainer took off in the direction of the lake. Their redheaded friend stood for a moment shaking her head, then took off after them shouting, "Wait for me!"  
  
The guy guarding the front of the gym began sweating nervously. He pulled out a radio handset.  
  
"Boss, there's trouble..."  
  
**A/N: Okay, anyone want me to continue? I will anyway, but I probably won't put it up on ff.net until it's finished if no one's absolutely in a hurry for the next part. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well! I didn't expect to get any reviews at all...so thank you to all of you who have. And to Nova S., I didn't really expect many people to like this...so I was going to wait until it was finished to put the whole thing up. I know, doesn't make sense, but that's the way I am ^_^. And yes it is Melody from the Orange Islands (extra points if you figure out which of the other two I mentioned is another old friend--it's all part of this story I came up with in my head the other day)...and don't worry, I don't even remember the Electabuzz Song. I barely remember the Johto eps I did see...Anyway, here's the next part!!**  
  
  
  
Jessie, James and Meowth weren't the most intelligent grapes in the bunch, but they certainly had more creative juices than most of the other Team Rocket members. Which was why Giovonni decided to call them for this particular assignment. He needed to get those kids away from the lake without alerting any of his people that weren't already in the know about his project. Jessie and James were therefore the perfect operatives. They wouldn't ask questions--or rather, they wouldn't _think_ to ask questions.  
  
The trio in question were of course terrified when their boss called.  
  
"We'll get ya that pikachu," Meowth said quickly, "We've just had a few minor setbacks is all..."  
  
"Silence!" the shadowy figure on the screen commanded. "I want you to forget about that pikachu for now (he had no idea what they were talking about)*. I have another assignment for you. I want you to detain two kids heading up to the Lake of Rage. I want to question them." He paused to see their reaction, then added for effect, "You know what will happen if you fail. Now go!" The screen went blank.  
  
"I can't believe he called us," Jessie said, a bewildered expression on her face.  
  
"I can't believe he didn't fire us," Meowth seconded.  
  
James stared at the screen for a moment before adding his thoughts on the matter. "I can't believe he'd trust us with such an important mission."  
  
Jessie and Meowth hit him upside the head. "Don't be so stupid James. Now, we need to figure out a way to detain those two kids."  
  
"Leave dat up ta me," Meowth said, "I got a foolproof plan, listen. You remember dat fake building we forgot about when we was trying ta capture Pikachu?"  
  
"How could we not remember. It cost us our last ten dollars," Jessie said bitterly, "Then those twirps didn't even see it. They were too worried about their friend."  
  
"Exactly," Meowth said, "It's both shock proof, waterproof, and fireproof. Not only that, it's still standing--completely unharmed! We can get dese kids to go into it, then lower 'em into the Lake of Rage."  
  
"Good idea Meowth!" Jessie exclaimed, "And when we've done that, maybe the boss'll give us a bonus..." She trailed off thinking of all the things she could do with the money.  
  
"Yeah," Meowth said, joining her, "Or a promotion...." He pictured the persian that was the boss' favorite pokemon sitting out in the rain, while he sat in the boss' lap, enjoying (no pun intended--wait yes there is...) the lap of luxury.  
  
James was thinking of both of these things, and was about to jump out with "or both," when another thought intruded. "How are we going to get those kids into the building?"  
  
This snapped the other two out of their reveries.  
  
"Oh, I have an idea!" Jessie exclaimed, and the three huddled together whispering.  
  
Wabofat (sp?) came out of its pokeball, just for something to do, and listened in. It didn't really understand what was being said, but when they had finished talking, it decided to go ahead and agree with whatever it was.  
  
"Waaaaabofat!"  
  
Jessie, for once in a good mood nodded. "That's right Wabofat. Everything is finally going right!"  
  


*************

  
  
Misty took in a breath of the slightly cool air as they made their way up the path. It was certainly a pretty enough day for a walk, with the sun casting its gentle golden glow on the flowering trees they passed. It was a nice place to take a walk too, since so far as she could see, Ash couldn't get them lost--not with a well marked trail--and there didn't appear to be any bugs. No, everything was just fine.  
  
The little egg pokemon in her arms gave a small trill, as though it had picked up on her thoughts and was agreeing. She smiled at Togepi and hugged it closer, then chanced a glance over at Ash. The boy was walking forward with a determined stride, Pikachu right beside him. He seemed to be oblivious to the nice day, which wasn't unusual for him. When he got his mind set on something, almost nothing could stand in his way--he would keep on until he was either beaten, or won whatever it was.  
  
Still, to give him his due, he really cared about pokemon. Not just his own, but all pokemon. And he wasn't a half bad trainer once he focused and kept the overconfidence to a minimum. He wasn't half bad looking either, and he was a good friend too. Sure he wasn't perfect. Who was? She was glad that he counted her as one of his friends.   
  
"I wonder if there really is a Red Gyrados," Ash said suddenly, "or if it's just like that guy said--a rumor."  
  
"We'll find out when we get there, I'm sure," Misty responded, even though it wasn't a question.  
  
"Pika, chupika pika pi ka, chaa," Pikachu interjected.  
  
"Yeah, you're both right...we won't know til we get there, so, let's go!" He started to run, but was held back by Misty gripping the back of his jacket.  
  
"Whoa there Mister Pokemon Master, whatever's there can wait a few minutes longer. What if we have to battle something? You'll be too tired from running."  
  
"We have a way to get you there fast, without tiring you out!" A friendly, cheerful voice called out.  
  
The three of them looked over to see a woman with long red braids and a pair of glasses standing beside a large yellow bus with the words "Lake of Rage Tours" in large red letters.  
  
"I'm afraid the touring season is over for the year, but we don't mind giving ya'll one for free," the woman continued.  
  
Ash stared at the woman. "Do...I know you from somewhere?"  
  
Suddenly, she seemed flustered. "Uh, well uh...you see...I don't see how you possibly could. I've never been out of the Mahogany area."  
  
"Oh, must just be my imagination then." He looked over at Misty for confirmation. She shrugged slightly. She had a sense of recognition too, but it was just a vague thing so she didn't worry about it. A small part of her mind told her it was very very stupid of her not to acknowledge its warning, but since she didn't know what the warning was, she couldn't very well heed it, now could she?  
  
"A tour sounds like a great idea," she enthused, "Right Togepi?"  
  
"Toki, toki priiiiiiiiii!"  
  
Misty smiled and boarded the bus, followed by Ash and Pikachu.  
  
**Five Minutes Later....**  
  
So far, the tour hadn't been exactly a tour. The driver and their 'guide' seemed to be having some sort of argument. Misty rolled her eyes and looked over at Ash, who was staring out the window, that same determined look on his face. Pikachu was sitting happily beside him, licking on a ketchup bottle that it had found somewhere.  
  
The bus came to an abrupt stop.  
  
"Well, here we are, the Lake of Rage," the woman said perkily, "If you'll follow the driver and myself, we have a few forms for you to fill out..."  
  
Misty looked over at Ash who looked back. "Okay," they said in unison, and followed the guide and the driver. Pikachu started to follow, but at that moment, Togepi decided it would be fun to jump from 'mommy's' arms and run around.  
  
"Togepi!!" Misty called after it.  
  
"Oh don't worry Mist," Ash said, "Pikachu'll look after it. See?"  
  
Indeed, Pikachu was entertaining the baby pokemon with a game of 'chase the tail'. Misty relaxed, and continued on after Ash.  
  


******************

  
  
Meowth sat silently behind the controls of the large crane that was connected to the building. He was awaiting Jessie and James' signal. And he was bored out of his mind. Geez, why'd those two kids have to be two of the twerps? Now he had no idea when they'd be arriving or anything.  
  
Just as he was about to nod off to sleep, he heard two familiar sounds. Togepi and Pikachu. _Ahah,_ he thought to himself, _Maybe I can capture..._ Now his hears picked up another familar sound. Jessie and James. He looked over at the building. The door was shut. The signal!! He quickly pushed the lever, and the crane picked the building up and lowered it into the middle of the lake.  
  
At that time, Pikachu noticed him, and electrocuted the heck out of him, destroying the crane in the process. It was about that time that they both realized their friends were trapped under the lake.  
  
**A/N: Um...okay, I don't know how much sense this makes...more to come soon when my fingers aren't cramped...**  
  



	3. Chapter 3

A/N: italics indicate thoughts. _Gee I wish I were a fish_ and italics with stars around them denote translated pokemon speech. _*Meowth, get a life!*_. (Note: translated pokemon speech only occurs during a pokemon's pov, or a human who understands a certain pokemon..) And...this is more of a friendship fic than a romance, with hints of relationshippy stuff.  
  
Being trapped in a building under a lake is no fun. Being trapped in a building under a lake with your worst enemies is the pits. Being trapped in a building under a lake with your worst enemies' toxic spewing pokemon is a nightmare. Fortunately for Ash and Misty, Jessie realized that she and James were getting hit with it too and made him recall Weezing.  
  
Ash sucked in air gratefully and shook his head slightly to clear it of the poisonous fumes that had started to take effect. Then he brought up a pokeball and prepared to release Noctowl, but was stopped by Misty's restraining hand on his arm. He looked over at her in confusion.  
  
"Think Ash," she commanded, "We're trapped under a lake. What if your pokemon punctures a hole in one of the walls?"  
  
He looked around at the four blank walls, and up at the single light bulb on the ceiling. How Team Rocket had managed to get that to work he didn't know. All he knew was that they had tricked them again, and because of it they were stuck with them, for however long it took Pikachu to come with help--if it could even go get help. There was no guarantee that Meowth hadn't captured it.  
  
As he couldn't release any of his pokemon for battle, Ash clenched his hands into fists and settled for glaring at Jessie and James, who were already glaring at Misty and him.  
  
"This is all yours and your scrawny girlfriend's fault," Jessie hissed suddenly, "If you hadn't figured us out at the last minute and shut the door to keep us from escaping, we wouldn't be in this mess."  
  
"Hey!" Misty growled, "Who are you calling scrawny? At least I don't have hair like yours!"  
  
Jessie gasped. "Why you stupid little brat! How dare you insult my glorious, luxurious locks!"  
  
"Glorious? Gloriously stupid."  
  
Ash stared between Misty and Jessie as they continued to trade insults. He was startled when a bag of popcorn was thrust before his face. He looked over at James in surprise.  
  
"Uh...where'd this come from?"  
  
James shrugged. "We left it here on accident when we were setting up earlier. Have some, it's only a little stale."  
  
"Uh...we're supposed to be fighting...aren't we?"  
  
"Yeah, but it's more fun watching them."  
  
"Yeah..." Ash took some popcorn and settled back to watch the girls.  
  
"If you weren't so dumb, you would be able to control that wobbuffet (thanks for the spelling) of yours!" Misty said in response to the patient pokemon's appearance. Of course, just as she said that, Psyduck decided to join the fun as well.  
  
"Ooh!! Psyduck!!"  
  
"Psy? Psyduck?"  
  
"Wobbuffet."  
  


*******************

  
  
"Now see what you did!" Meowth yelled, "We can't get dem back up now. How do ya like dat?"  
  
_*Don't blame this on me Meowth, you're the one with the stupid plans,*_ Pikachu growled out. _*Now come on, let's go see if we can find some help*_  
  
"Toki-priiiiiii," Togepi chirped. Meowth stared at it and shook his head. He still couldn't understand the baby pokemon. Maybe because it was still just a baby. Then he looked back at Pikachu. Had it really said 'we'?. It made some sense though. In the past the two of them had worked together as an okay team.  
  
"Okay," Meowth agreed, "Let's go!"  
  


*********************

  
  
Casey sighed as she kneeled beside Todd, trying to coax the baby pokemon out. The cleffa wasn't having any of it though, and backed further under the bed.  
  
"Come on Mary, it's okay no one's gonna hurt you..." Casey stood up and looked back down at the older boy. "I don't think she's gonna come out yet Todd, maybe I'll just go and see if Nurse Joy can help."  
  
She looked over at Melody who was standing against the wall, shaking her head. "She's too scared," the older girl said, "Thanks to that guy's loud mouth. I don't think anything can convince her to come out."  
  
Casey frowned. "Yeah, well if you had been watching what you were doing instead of acting like you know everything, that guy wouldn't have yelled out with the pain. And his name is Brock."  
  
"Brock?" Todd asked, getting to his feet also. The camera hanging on his neck swung a little with the motion. "I knew someone named Brock...he wanted to be a pokemon breeder or something like that."  
  
"It's probably the same one then," Casey replied, "Maybe he'll know how to get Mary to come out."  
  
"Cleffa!"  
  
They all turned to see the baby pokemon standing at their feet blinking up innocently at them. She walked over to Melody and raised her tiny paws. The girl scooped the pokemon up and cooed at it for a while before shrugging.  
  
"Well," said Todd, shaking his head, "Let's go get your pokemon checked over Casey."  
  
Casey nodded and bounded out, Todd following close behind, leaving Melody with the baby pokemon. "You know Mary," she told it, "Sometimes I think you're more trouble than you're worth."  
  
"Cleeefffaa!!"  
  
**Downstairs.....**  
  
"Your pokemon are just fine Casey, and in good shape," Nurse Joy said handing the pokeballs back to the girl.  
  
"Thanks Nurse Joy," Casey enthused, "Now I can go challenge the gym leader!"  
  
"Well, I think the gym's closed, but maybe not since Ash and Misty haven't come back..."  
  
"Did you just say Ash and Misty?" Melody asked, walking over from the stairwell, "Ash Ketchum?"  
  
"Why yes," Nurse Joy responded.  
  
"And they went off....together? Without any other friends? I knew it!"  
  
"Well they did have the pikachu and the togepi with them."  
  
Melody looked slightly downcast, but then she brightened. "I think I'll just go see if I can't find them and..." Whatever it was she had been about to say was lost as a pikachu and a meowth came running in.  
  



End file.
